The Singing Trees

Description

A traveler walking through a certain forest within the Beyond, on a certain evening might hear a low-pitched melodious hum that begins without warning. The hum has a direction, but does not get substantially louder as one approaches. Rather, new, higher pitched tones, percussive beats and whistles begin to join the hum as the source is approached…until the listener is surrounded by an unimaginable variety of sounds differing in type, timbre, pitch and volume. But instead of being a cacophony, the tones intermingle to a pleasing harmony.

The sounds originate from a grove of several hundred smooth-barked yellow trees, with translucent leaves of a similar but paler color. But the sounds do not come from the trees themselves… at least, no specific sound can be traced to a given tree. Rather, it’s as if the grove itself is performing. Once it begins, the performance can end quickly, or may go on for several hours without interruption.

The locals refer to the grove as the Singing Trees, and it is generally considered a good omen to hear them. The sounds come infrequently and are not predictable. (Though a patient traveler can usually hear them within a month or two.)

Details

Region:

The Beyond

The Singing Trees Hearsay:

Anyone who makes it to the grove and spends more than two hours there, must succeed at an Intellect Defense roll (Difficulty 2) or they will become infected/attuned… and will begin to hear the song within themselves, independent of the trees. Subsequent experiences with the trees requires an additional roll, also at difficulty 2.

The music itself is detritus from the datasphere, interacting with the specific biomass of the grove. Those who are attuned may later sense nearby sources of the same aspects of the datasphere.

Those who are attuned may occasionally hear the trees “music” at random times. (GM Intrusion opportunity)

A small group of attuned people live away from the town, calling themselves Tree Speakers. They claim to understand the language of the trees and the secrets that they speak.

The Weird of The Singing Trees:

The sounds of the trees do not get louder or softer, whether you are in the grove, or a few hundred yards away. Rather, specific sounds stop being heard the farther you get, until only the low-pitched hum is heard.

While the sounds are random, the “theme” performed by the trees does not seem to repeat from one experience to the next.

The leaves of the trees seem to be an organic synth, and are filled with a thin, metallic tasting/smelling liquid.